Kriti Mehrotra
Anyone familiar with the LGBTQ+ circle within sports knows a thing or two about Gus Kenworthy — an Olympic skier and YouTuber who has achieved wonders. He never thought he’d come out while still skiing competitively, yet that changed when his personal life got to a stage where he just couldn’t hide it anymore. That’s similar to what Colton Underwood experienced, except the reality star thought he’d die without ever revealing his true sexuality. So, because they are friends, as seen on ‘Coming Out Colton,’ Gus helped him navigate the entire process of leaving the closet and joining their community.
Who is Gus Kenworthy?
Although born on October 1, 1991, in Essex to an English mother and an American father as the youngest of three brothers, Augustus “Gus” Richard Kenworthy grew up in Telluride, Colorado. After all, his family had emigrated and settled in the small town known for its ski and golf resorts when he was only two years old. His passion for the snow slopes thus grew quite naturally, and it completely changed his life, particularly after Gus lost his best friend in a ski accident at the age of 14. That loss made the teen want to keep his friend’s memories alive, so he decided to pursue the sport professionally in his honor.
After taking a year off in between for training, Gus graduated high school in 2010 and went on to win the AFP World Championship overall titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013. From there, in 2014, he came second at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and won a bronze at the X Games in Tignes, France — both for slopestyle events. He subsequently confided in friends and family, and a year later, Gus admitted his truth to the world and came out as gay in an interview with ESPN. With that, he became a trailblazer as the first out high profile competitor in extreme sports and continued to compete and win many more accolades.
Where is Gus Kenworthy Now?
The person who essentially served as Gus’ mentor as he embraced his life as a member of the LGBTQ+ community was his then-boyfriend, actor Matthew Wilkas. They are no longer together, but because the freestyle skier still remembers how nice it felt to have a guiding hand, he didn’t hesitate to help Colton Underwood. The fact that they had met over four years ago while taping an episode of the ‘All Things Comedy’ podcast and had stayed in touch only made them that much more comfortable. Gus’ admittance that he’s also still learning further helped Colton and their bond, which remains strong.
Coming to where he is today, Gus has made use of his dual citizenship by deciding that he now wants to compete for his birth nation, Great Britain. He made this announcement in 2019, won his first medal for the country in February 2020, and is currently preparing to represent them at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the last he plans to compete in. The reason, Gus told The Advocate, is that skiing now seems like a daunting job as he feels old and has more fear. “It’s not something that I ever used to have, because I used to feel like I was made of rubber. And I would bounce back and I was kind of fearless.”
Gus added, “I’m now more scared. And so my approach has kind of changed. [I know] where the finish line is. And so I’m just trying to push to get there. But it’s not always easy.” Moreover, during the height of the pandemic back in 2020, the athlete had started taking acting classes and now hopes to achieve more than what he has already done in shows like ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Will & Grace.’ Gus will always speak up about the importance of LGBTQ+ rights on his platforms, but on a personal level, he merely wants to be comfortable and happy with his friends and family.
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